August 04, 2012

Tanzania: Ebola patient allegedly diagnosed in Kagera

As the government tries to take measures to prevent the deadly disease of Ebola from spreading into the country, one patient has been discovered to have been infected with the viruses at Nyakage hospital in Karagwe district, Kagera region.

According to one doctor from the hospital who declined to be named because he is not the authorised spokesperson, doctors at the hospital discovered a patient whose name was not immediately established with all signs of the disease when he went there for treatment on Friday.

The doctor further noted that the patient had travelled from Uganda and had entered into the country via Mulongo border in the western part of Kagera region.

Efforts to contact the Minister for Health and Social Welfare, Dr. Hussein Mwinyi for more clarification about the matter yesterday bore no fruit as he was not ready to speak about the issue, asking the reporter to call him later. However, when efforts were made to reach him about an hour later his phone was switched off.

However, speaking in Parliament on Wednesday, Dr Mwinyi said the government had sent medical experts to the Tanzanian border with Uganda in a quest to contain its spread into the country. The disease is known to have killed 14 victims.

Dr Mwinyi told visibly alarmed legislators that the medical experts who have been dispatched to the border were fully equipped with protective gear, medical supplies and other requisite equipment.

They are also able to identify Ebola virus carriers. The minister advised the public, especially those living in the northern regions of Kagera, Mara, Mwanza and Kigoma, some of which share border crossings with Uganda.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) has already alerted Tanzania on the Ebola threat. The ministry issued a statement to the press elaborating that Ebola was a highly contagious disease brought on by the Ebola virus.

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As the government tries to take measures to prevent the deadly disease of Ebola from spreading into the country, one patient has been discovered to have been infected with the viruses at Nyakage hospital in Karagwe district, Kagera region.

According to one doctor from the hospital who declined to be named because he is not the authorised spokesperson, doctors at the hospital discovered a patient whose name was not immediately established with all signs of the disease when he went there for treatment on Friday.

The doctor further noted that the patient had travelled from Uganda and had entered into the country via Mulongo border in the western part of Kagera region.

Efforts to contact the Minister for Health and Social Welfare, Dr. Hussein Mwinyi for more clarification about the matter yesterday bore no fruit as he was not ready to speak about the issue, asking the reporter to call him later. However, when efforts were made to reach him about an hour later his phone was switched off.

However, speaking in Parliament on Wednesday, Dr Mwinyi said the government had sent medical experts to the Tanzanian border with Uganda in a quest to contain its spread into the country. The disease is known to have killed 14 victims.

Dr Mwinyi told visibly alarmed legislators that the medical experts who have been dispatched to the border were fully equipped with protective gear, medical supplies and other requisite equipment.

They are also able to identify Ebola virus carriers. The minister advised the public, especially those living in the northern regions of Kagera, Mara, Mwanza and Kigoma, some of which share border crossings with Uganda.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) has already alerted Tanzania on the Ebola threat. The ministry issued a statement to the press elaborating that Ebola was a highly contagious disease brought on by the Ebola virus.